|
Yaum al-Qiyâmah (يوم القيامة; literally: "Day of the Resurrection" (Qur'an 71.18), also known as "the Hour (Qur'an 31.34, 74.47)," "Day of the Account," (Qur'an 72.130 "Day of the Gathering," "Day of the Reckoning," "Day of Distress," (Qur'an 74.9) and the "Great Announcement") is the Arabic name for the Last Judgement. Belief in Qiyâmah is part of Aqidah and is a fundamental tenet of faith in Islam. The trials and tribulations of Qiyâmah are detailed in both the Qur'an and the Hadith, as well as in the commentaries of the Islamic expositors and scholarly authorities such as al-Ghazali, Ibn Kathir, Ibn Maja, Muhammad al-Bukhari, and Ibn Khuzaimah who explain them in detail. Every human, Muslim and non-Muslim alike, is held accountable for his or her deeds and are judged by God accordingly (Qur'an 74.38).
Overview
At a time unknown to man, but preordained (Qur'an 17.49-51, 34.28-30, 72.25-26, 79.42-44, Sahih Bukhari, book 2 "book of faith", number 47), when people least expect it, Allah will give permission for the Qiyâmah to begin. The archangel Israfil, referred to as the Caller, will sound a horn sending out a "Blast of Truth" (Qur'an 50.37-42, 69.13-18, 74.8, 78.18). All men and women will fall unconcious.
The first to awake will be Muhammad who will see Moses, who may or may not have awoken prior, holding up the Throne of Allah at the mountain of Tur (Sahih Bukhari, book 55 "accounts of the prophets", numbers 610, 620, 626.) Those who distorted or ignored the Qur'an will be engulfed in hellfire (Qur'an 2.174-6, 72.4, 72.15, 73.12, 74.26-27, 74.42-46, 79.36-39).
On the other hand, those who truly believed in Allah, referred to as Al-Ghurr-ul-Muhajjalun (Sahih Bukhari, book 4 "Ablution", number 133; 138 in another edition) due to the trace of ritual ablution performed during their lives, will repent their sin and will return to "the Garden beneath which rivers flow," (Qur'an 58.21, 61.2, 64.9, 65.11, 66.8-11, 68.17-32, 69.21-24, 70.32-38, 71.12, 74.40, 76.12-14, 78.32, 79.40-41, 80.28-31, 85.11, 88.8-11).
The world will be destroyed, or folded, the dead will rise from their graves and will gather, waiting to be judged for their actions (Qur'an 11.102-7).
The ayat "And the moon is buried in darkness. And the sun and moon are joined together," (75.8-9) can be interpreted in many ways. The classical commentators Al-Jalalayn, Al-Tabari and Al-Qortobi explain this verse as meaning that the sun and moon are joined in being darkened, rather than truly merged together whereas when viewed scientifically this is a premonition of a lunar eclipse followed by a cosmic collision between the sun and moon.
The Gathering
Alamin (humankind, the Jinn, and all other living beings), will be gathered upon a vast, white, featureless ground, under the intense heat of the Sun overhead. They will be naked, uncircumcised and crowded together to the point where some are submerged in their own sweat, as in the beginning of creation (Qur'an 21.104, Sahih Bukhari, book 55 "accounts of the prophets", number 656; Qur'an 5.117-118). The degree to which one is submerged in sweat depends on the extent of his or her piety and goodness. The faces of those who practiced good adab by following the Five Pillars of Islam in their daily lives are nadirah, shining and radiant, whereas the faces of disbelievers are basirah, dark, sad and frowning (Qur'an 75.22-24). Despite being unclothed the anxiety and fear of the situation will be so great that no one would think to look at another's nudity. The creatures thus wait to be brought before God for their judgement. Humans will be so fearful on this "day" that the prophets themselves will repeatedly address God with the phrase sallim, sallim, or spare, spare — that is, "spare your followers, O God," and followers of Muhammad during his lifetime who strayed from Islam after his passing will be engulfed in fire (Qur'an 5.117-118, Sahih Bukhari, book 55 "accounts of the prophets", number 568). Even the angels are fearful, as some hadiths state that on that day, Allah will be angrier than he has been or ever will be.
The Qu'ran mentions the duration of the day of judgement as 50,000 years (Qur'an 70.4) and that it may have already begun (Qur'an 42.17, 47.18, 70.6-7). People will beseech the prophets to intercede on their behalf, first Abraham, then Moses, then Adam, and finally Noah, all of whom decline to do so and instead point to the prophet Muhammad, who will intercede behalf of the world (Qur'an 74.48; Sahih Bukhari, book 55 "accounts of the prophets", number 555, 569). Abraham will meet his father Azar whose face will be basirah. When Abraham demands that his father not be disgraced he is informed that on this day no one is above reproach (Sahîh al-bokhârî, book 55 "accounts of the prophets", number 581). Abraham finds a blood-stained Dhabh beneath his feet and throws him into Jahannam.
Other notable relatives who are among those cast into Jahannam include the wives of Noah (Nuh) and Lut (Qur'an 66.10). When Lut and his family left Sodom and Gomorrah, his wife disobeyed the commands of the two angels not to look back at the burning city, thus she is not among Al-Ghurr-ul-Muhajjalun.
Adam is ordered by Allah to bring all of those who rejected Islam to Jahannam. He asks how many he should bring and Allah answers, "From every one thousand, take out nine-hundred-and ninety-nine." At that time children will become hoary headed (Qur'an 73.12), previously healed wounds will reappear (Sahih Bukhari, book 4 "Ablution", number 238), every pregnant female will have a miscarriage, and one will see mankind as drunken, yet they will be sober, but dreadful will be the Wrath of God (Qur'an 69.47, Sahih Bukhari, book 55 "accounts of the prophets", number 567.)
Rejection of false Gods
Idols will assert that only God is Lord, and that they were wrongfully worshipped. The Qur'an and Hadith state that the prophet Jesus will return and will deny he claimed he was Lord (Qur'an 43.61). In regard to idolatry, Muhammad said, "If any religious man dies amongst those people they would build a place of worship at his grave and make these pictures in it. They will be the worst creature in the sight of God on the Day of Resurrection," (Sahih Bukhari, book 8 "Prayers", number 409 (419 in the USC MSA database.)
Personification in Qiyamah
The personification of objects that are not normally considered anthropomorphic is a recurrent motif in Kalam (Islamic theology) regarding the wa'dul akhirati (afterlife). For instance, artists who depict living creatures are tormented by their creations. Allah infuses each with a soul due to the Islamic prohibition against aristists depicting beings that have "souls," interpreted as meaning all mammals including humans. In the grave one faces either a reassuring man (his or her good deeds), or a foul-looking creature (his or her sins) (Qur'an 82.4). Again, this recurs in the subject of the Qiyâmah. For instance, the Qu'ran appears as an anthropomorphic being that greets those who loved it in their lives and offers them some solace. In the same vein, accounts in primary Islamic literature mention that at some point (perhaps after creatures are confined to either paradise (al-firdaus) or hell) Death will be brought forth and slain, and a proclamation that there is no more death will be sounded.
Barzakh
Barzakh is a sequence that happens after death, in which the archangel Azrael with the help of other less significant angels will separate the soul from the body, either harshfully or painlessly depending on how righteous the person was during their lifetime (Qur'an 79.1-2). Three main events take place chronologically which constitute the Barzakh sequence:
The separation of the soul and the body.
Nakir and Munkar's (two Islamic Angels) interrogation of the soul in its grave.
"Who is your Lord?"
"What is your way of life?"
"Who is your Prophet?"
The "Waahsh" or the horror of the grave, the pressure of the grave depending on whether the person was righteous or not.
Muhammad referred to the interrogation as, "...the worst hours of a man's life".
Al-Kawthar
Believers will be led by the prophet Muhammad to a vast basin or lake-fount called al-kawthar الكوثر, where their thirst will be sated with a white-colored drink that tastes like sweetened milk. Whosoever drinks it, never thirsts thereafter. In one hadith al-kawthar is said to be a river of paradise (al-Bukhari, book 76, hadith 583.) Sahih Bukhari, in book 76 (the book of tenderness), the chapter on the basin contains at least 14 hadiths regarding it.
“Seeing" Allah
Islam also addresses the question of whether believers will be able to see Allah on that day. According to one or more Hadith classified as sahîh (trustworthy), God will reveal a "leg" or "shin" for the believers. According to Imam Muslim and Muhammad al-Bukhari believers will not see Allah until they have died. Again, classical commentators, with the notable exception of Ibn Taymiya, prefer the safe route of interpreting that Hadith as neither literal (haqiqi) nor figurative, but most if not all agree that it answers the question in the affirmative; believers will see God. Another Hadith states that believers will be able to see their Lord, just as we are able to see the sun or the moon in the sky. When God reveals Himself to the faithful, a Hadith states that those who during their life would not pray of their own free will will be made to fall on their backs.
Since most of those hadith are on the authority of Abu Huraira, most Shia dismiss them as a sad examples of what happens when all Sahaba are counted as trustworthy: A clear breach in Tawhid, the belief that God is above its creation.
Judgement
During judgement, a man's or a woman's own book of deeds will be opened, and they will be apprised of every action they did and every word they spoke (Qur'an 54.52-53). Actions taken during childhood are not judged. The account of deeds is so detailed that the man or woman will wonder at how comprehensive the account is, that even minor and trivial deeds are included. When the Hour is at hand, some will deny that al-Qiyamah is taking place and will be warned that al-Qiyamah precedes the Day of Pining (distress) (Qur'an 30.55-57, 19.39). If one denies a deed he or she committed, or refuses to acknowledge it, his or her body parts will testify against him or her.
Throughout judgement, however, the underlying principle is that of a complete and perfect justice administered by God. The accounts of judgement are also replete with the emphasis that God is merciful and forgiving, and that mercy and forgiveness will be granted on that day insofar as it is merited.
This is similar to some Protestant theologies that state that salvation is by the grace of God, and not by deeds. Islam, however, emphasizes that grace does not conflict with perfect justice.
Animals are also judged, but separately, and they are avenged from humans and other animals. They are then made to perish. The animals (or other creatures) in paradise are thus different than the animals of our world.
There is indication also that nations are collectively called to account for their deeds. And there are Hadiths that indicate that on judgement day people are made to join the races or communities with which they associated themselves, which points to a definition of society in ideological — not racial — terms.
Jahannam and Jannah
After judgement all men and women are made to cross over a deep abyss, whence the flames of Jahannam (Hell) leap up, on al-Sirât (الصراط), a thorny bridge so thin that it cannot be seen. The believers and those destined for Jannah are able to cross quickly and safely, whereas others fall off this hair-thin bridge into hell.
Concerning the matter of reward or Heaven (paradise) and Hell (punishment), there is the subject of the Intercession (الشفاعة). Hadiths classified as sahih state that the prophet Muhammad will be allowed to intercede on behalf of all of mankind, as opposed to the prophets who preceded him who were only able to appeal to nations (Sahîh al-bukhari, book 7 "Tayammum (rubbing hands and feet with dust)", number 331.) Furthermore, a believer will be allowed to plead for members of his family and for his loved ones. Throughout the discourse regarding the ultimate destiny, the consistent tenet is that being sent to paradise or to hell is a matter in God's hands alone (or, in Christian parlance, a matter determined by grace). God is thus the ultimate arbiter and qadi (judge) as to who remains in hell and who is rescued.
|
